Mein Guilt
by Steffie1
Summary: Duckula discovered the true reason why Dr. Von Goosewing believed that he's a dangerous vampire that needs to be destroyed. Could it be linked to Dr. Von Goosewing's assistant Heinrich?
1. Vengeance

Mein Guilt: Chapter 1

Characters (c) Cosgrove Hall Lady Lamia, Count Lamian, Klara, story (c) Steffie

Transylvania; the name that send shivers down everyone's spines for what it stands for. The most dangerous vampire's home is situated on the high foothills of this vampire country. Well, it is usually situated on these foothills. Strangely enough, Castle Duckla seemed to be misplaced somehow...

"Vot ze hell? Heinrich, how can a castle disappear in zin air?" the high-pitched voice of Dr. Von Goosewing screeched from his hot-air balloon as it floated a few metres away from where the castle was supposed to be. "How did zat foul fiend ezcape mein grasp?!" the gander asked as he took his pince-nez off his beak and cleaned any dirt off of it with his jacket.

While he cleaned his pince-nez, Castle Duckula blooped back onto the foothills that is its rightful place. A loud scream was heard from inside the castle.  
"Hansel und Grethal! Zat evil wampire eez back!" the vampire hunter gasped in fright. He slapped his forehead as soon his mind reminded him of something important.  
"Oh Ja, ze castle can teleport. Von Goosewing, for a genius, you sure can be dumb..." the doctor spoke to himself as he lowered the hot-air balloon close to a window.

"Come Heinrich, follow me. Und mind ze step, ja?" Dr. Von Goosewing honked as he called his assistant. Tucking a novel-sized book under his arm, the vampire hunter leaped through the window. He landed quite roughly onto his backside. Leaping back to his feet, the gander dusted himself off. Picking the book up, Dr. Von Goosewing frowned, looking extremely serious.

"Zis spellbook of yours shall be the saviour of mankind, Heinrich.", Dr. Von Goosewing spoke softly as he wiped the dust off, "Zat ein spell shall destroy him for good, und he can not be brought back to life ever again."

For a split second, a flicker of pure agony flickered in the vampire hunter's eyes. Sighing deeply, the goose turned his heel as he marched towards where he believed his prey is...

Meanwhile inside the main hall of Castle Duckula

"I can't believe it! Fame and fortune were in my grasp, yet I lost it all just like that!" Count Duckula bawled loud enough to wake the dead. Nanny stared at her Duckyboos without any expression of her face. Igor, on the other hand, wore a faint smirk on his beak.

"If I may be so bold to say so M'lord, but maybe it is for the best"  
"What?! Igor, are you saying that it's for the best for me to be booted off of Quack Idols because Nanny punched the one judge's lights out"  
"But that judge was going to hurt my Duckyboos"  
"Nanny, where did you get that idea from?" the mallard asked in bewilderment; trying to rack his brain to figure out if the judge said something that sounded to Nanny like he wanted to injure him.

"M'lord, I believe I know why she had attacked that judge." Igor spoke up. Count Duckula turned his head to face his butler.  
"Please do enlighten us, Igor." the count frowned, waiting for an answer.  
"Your Lordship, have you noticed the judge was a goose, and looked awfully alot like Dr. Von Goosewing"  
"Yes, so"  
"Well, I do believe that she thought that he is the doctor, and attacked him to protect you"  
"Hmm, that makes sense"  
"That's not what happened, m'lad! Mr. Igor told me that goose would hurt my poor Duckyboos after you sang your song. That's why I punched him out." Nanny piped out. Igor slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"Oh well, there's always next year's Quack Idols audition. The world just isn't ready for my great talent yet." the waterfowl puffed his chest out as Igor groaned in pain.  
"I'm going to bed now. Good night, or should I say,'Morning'? Ha ha! Get it? I said good morning, since it's still morning and I'm going to bed now, and...oh, never mind. I'm going to bed."

"Very well, M'Lord." Igor droned, yet his eyes had a sinister glint in them.  
"Igor, I'm only going to bed now because I didn't catch any sleep from the previous day. I am not turning into my old ways!" The count stated in anger before turning his heel and made a bee-line to his bedroom.

"Oh, Mr. Igor; even though our little Duckyboos didn't win, he doesn't let it get him down. His determination to do the impossible would make his ancestors proud. Bless him." Nanny smiled to herself. Igor was a bit taken aback from the old hen's words. Her spurts of wisdom came at the most unexpected times. Pity they didn't come more frequently, like always...

Meanwhile

"--And the winner for the World's Greatest Singer and Actor competition is--Count Duckula!" a voice boomed as the crowd cheered at the mallard that was on stage. Fireworks spewed high in the sky, champagne was spilled, and confetti were tossed as Igor and Nanny cheered loudly for their master while the crowd crowed loudly.  
"Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you all realized how great I am!" Count Duckula bowed to his audience. A beautiful blonde duck from the crowd jumped onto the stage and stood right in front of the vegeterian vampire. She kneeled down to the green duck's level and gave him a bear hug.  
"You're the greatest; You're the best!" she squealed girlishly in a slight French accent.  
"Oh, thank you so much." Duckula blushed as the lady pinched his cheeks.  
"I'm so glad I finally got to meet you so that I can--destroy you, you foul fiend!" the girl suddenly hissed in the same accent and voice as Dr. Von Goosewing.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Duckula screamed as he was rudely woken up from his deep slumber. His eyes became as wide as saucers as he saw that there was another occupant in his bedroom.  
"Goosewing?!" the vegeterian vampire gasped in surprise. A cold shiver ran down his spine when he noticed the doctor's eyes and facial expression. Gone was the silly and daft look Duckula was used to. In its place was a cold glare and the serious determination of a vampire hunter that loathed his very existence.

"Ja, the very same." the gander spoke in an icy whisper as he opened the large book that was in his hands. Duckula only noticed the book recently; and saw it was a book of spells.  
"Wait, what's with the book?" the count asked, pointing at the book. His curiosity replaced the fear he had.  
"Zanks to zis book, you shall be nein more, you wampire!" the vampire hunter's voice became louder as he grinned when he found the spell he was looking for.

The goose whipped his head to face the air next to him, holding his book as if offering it to someone to read. The mallard wore a look of confusion as he wondered why his enemy was giving the book to thin air.  
"Heinrich, ze spell to turn ze wampire to ashes! Do it now!" Goosewing honked loudly in fear. Nothing happened. Count Duckula became more confused as he watched how the mad scientist became frantic as the air didn't want to cast the spell.

"Goosewing, what are you doing?" "HEINRICH, WHY AREN'T YOU CASTING ZE SPELL?? DESTROY ZE WAMPIRE WILLIAN!" Dr. Von Goosewing panicked, face bleak as his entire body shook in fear.  
"How many times must I tell you? I am not a villian! I am a vegeterian vampire." "You lie! How can zer be a wegeterian wampire? Wampires need blood to survive"  
"I was reincarnated with ketchup instead of blood. That's why I don't drink blood or have any fangs!"

"Lies! Lies!! LIES!! Igor stores litres of blood in your fridge und freezer! I knew some wampires in mein old days that can hide zer fangs!" Dr. Von Goosewing pointed out as he tossed the book onto Count Duckula's bed. The old doctor tucked his one hand under his shirt, searching for his infamous musket. The moment he found it, he shot at the Count's head, missing it by a few millimetres.

"Uh oh...HELP! IGOR! NANNY! HEEELP!" the young duck hollered in terror and his zipped out of his bedroom, mad scientist right at his heels. The goose shot several lasers at his prey, whom had dodged each shot.  
"NANNY!! IGOR!! HELP!!" the last Count of the Duckulas screamed as he ran towards the main hall.  
"Start acting like a man, und fight!" Goosewing screechd on top of his lungs as a laser shot flew from his musket and towards the mallard. His aim was true.

Seeing the laser coming towards him, the vegeterian vampire leaped out of the way and transformed into a bat.  
"Gottdammering"  
"Huh, how did I do that?!" the bat squeaked as he flapped his wings. Using his newfound form, the count tried to fly as high as he could.

But, it was only a few feet above the ground. Not being able to control his transformation fully, Count Duckula transformed into his true form and fell hard onto the floor. Since the wind was knocked out of him, he stared dazingly as Dr. Von Goosewing stalked towards him. As soon as he hovered over him, the doctor aimed his weapon at the Count's head.

"Zis iz it, ja? After years of suffering vot you heff done to me, you shall be nix by ze time I fired zis shot." The goose spat coldly.  
"What I have done to you? I don't get what you mean"  
Before the doctor could say anything, a loud crash was heard as Nanny knocked the wall that Duckula and Goosewing were in front of, Igor right behind her. The debris fell on top of the elderly goose, knocking him out cold. The mallard was greatly relieved at this turn of events.

"About time you two showed up! What kept you?" the count scolded his servants. "My apologies, M'Lord. We were running an errand and only returned recently"  
"Which is"  
"We were looking for Tows-" Nanny started her sentence, but Igor slapped his hand over her beak, shushing her.  
"Never mind that, we must take care of Goosewing here." Duckula sighed in relief as he looked down at the goose's unconscious form.

Later, Count Duckula's bedroom

"--And you should've seen the look he had on his face! I never seen him look so serious and determined before!" Count Duckula flapped his arms as he explained to his servants what had happened. The unconscious form of Goosewing was tucked in Duckula's bed. Igor had held the goose's spell book in his hands, paging through it with deep fascination, Nanny peeping from over his shoulder. The young master took the book from his butler's hands and paged through the book as well.

"Wow, this really is a spell book. I wonder where that mad goose got it from?" Duckula chuckled to himself as he noticed how corny some of the spells were written.  
"Whomever he had received it from was definitely a white spell user." Igor explained to his master.

"Hey Igor, Nanny! Hear this corny spell!", the duck cleared the throat before he spoke,"Know his thoughts, Know his dreams, Know his feelings. I want to enter his mind and found out how he ticks! Ha ha, that's so corn--AH!"

Count Duckula screamed as he clutched his head in pain.  
"M'Lord?" "Duckyboos"  
"Nanny, Igor, Help! It feels like I'm being drawn into some type of vaccuum! Agh!" Duckula howled as he transformed into a tiny ball of light and flew into Dr. Von Goosewing's head...

To be continued... 


	2. Doors of the Past

Mein Guilt: Chapter 2

Characters (c) Cosgrove Hall Lady Lamia, Count Lamian, Klara, story (c) Steffie

Castle Duckula, home of the last of the vicious vampires of lore. The villagers that live below shudder in fear as feminine wails of help became more and more frantic. What horror lurked in that cursed castle today?

Meanwhile in Count Duckula's bedroom

"Oh help! Save us!" Nanny wailed frantically as she paced up and down the bedroom as Igor frantically paged through Dr. Von Goosewing's book of spells. Glancing at the unconscious form of his Master's enemy, Igor shook his head in defeat.  
"Mr. Igor, you must help poor Duckyboos!" Nanny sobbed.  
"I'm afraid it's impossible for me to do so." Igor groaned as he sighed sadly.  
"Why not? But, you are known are the greatest sorcerer"  
"Look Nanny, I am a necromancer, not a sorcerer. Besides, I am only an expert in dark magic, not white ones."

"But, can't you please do something, Mr. Igor"  
"Since I am not an expert in white magic, I might do more harm than good to the young Master. I'm afraid to say it, but the only thing we can do is wait for the spell to wear off..." Igor glanced at the unconscious form of the gander, trying to hide his own sorrow.

Meanwhile

Duckula screamed in horror as he was sucked into a strange vortex of some sort. Although it was only three minutes, it felt like he was in this predicament for an entire eternity. Suddenly, the vortex disappeared and Duckula found himself in front of a large cottage.

"Huh? What the hell happened, and how did I get here?" the Count scratched his head in confusion. Whipping his head around, he noticed the familiar hot-air balloon of Dr. Von Goosewing descending towards him. Inside the balloon were the vampire hunter and Sibelius Smogg.

"What is Goosewing doing here?" Duckula pondered to himself as he hid himself behind some bushes that appeared out of nowhere. As soon as the hot-air balloon touched terra firma, Sibelius Smogg scrambled out of the basket with all his might. The gander simply leaped out of the basket and landed gracefully on his feet.

"I can't believe you've decided to fly all the animals back to where they belong first! We barely made it to Austria!" The angry Sibelius huffed as he glared down at the vampire hunter.  
"Vell, it vould be wery cruel to simply throw them out of the basket vile we ver in ze North Pole, ja?" Goosewing stated coldly as he walked up to the front door of the cottage, Mr. Smogg right behind him. Lifting the Welcome mat up, the doctor picked up the key that was hidden there and used it to unlock the door.

"Velcome to mein humble home, Sibelius. Let's sleep here for ze night and travel back to London tomorrow." Goosewing smiled as gestured that his friend should enter first. The elderly man simply cocked an eyebrow.  
"This cottage is yours?" Sibelius blinked in confusion. "Ja, it eez. Vell, We are hardly staying here vile I hunt for ze foul fiend Count Duckula." the gander chuckled to himself.

"Who do mean by 'we'?" Mr. Smogg asked as he entered the cottage with Goosewing right behind him. Count Duckula was surprised he suddenly found himself inside the cottage as well. How did that happen?  
"Vell, mein assistant Heinrich and I live here." Goosewing stated as he and Sibelius sat down in the living room. Dr. Von Goosewing asked the Englishman what he wanted to drink, and went into the kitchen to make some tea. Mr. Smogg smiled when he heard the doctor mumble about how irresponsible his young assistant was for not telling him where he went while he went out to catch the count. After a few minutes, Goosewing returned with the tea.

Sibelius Smogg looked around the large room. There were only two chairs, a tiny table, a large bookshelf with books and photos and a painting of a handsome young gander wearing Dr. Von Goosewing's outfit. He had his arms wrapped around a beautiful goose's waist as nuzzled his cheek lovingly against hers. She was a few inches shorter than her male companion. Her blonde hair was styled like a beehive. She wore a beautiful pink Victorian gown. Her eyes were a brilliant blue as well, which was unusual for geese.

"That's a beautiful painting of you and your wife, Doctor." Sibelius stated as he turned his head to face Dr. Von Goosewing. The English gentleman was taken aback when he noticed a look of utter despair on the goose's face.  
"Zat isn't mein wife. She was mein girlfriend, and zen somezing terrible happened and she iz nein more." the doctor mumbled sadly, the teacup in his hand shook.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I"  
"No, it isn't your fault. I vos stupid enough to fall for her. Heinrich had warned me about her, yet I ignored him..."

"If I may be so bold to ask, what did happen, Doctor?" Sibelius asked, his curiosity peaked.  
"Let's just say I realized that nein wampire can be trusted, not even ones zat are as beautiful as she"  
"Wait, that's a vampire"  
"Ja, zat eez very ironic, no? Me, a wampire hunter had fallen for ein of mein enemies."

Count Duckula couldn't believe it. His enemy had fallen for a female vampire? But, that doesn't explain why he hated him so much.  
"It eez very sad, ja?" A german voice spoke from behind him.  
"Argh!" Count Duckula screamed in horror as he leaped a few feet in the air. As soon as he landed on his feet, he turned around to face the owner of the voice.  
"Dr. Von Goosewing? What are you doing in both places at once?" the mallard asked as he noticed the other Goosewing drinking tea with Sibelius Smogg.

"Oh, you heff not realized it yet?" the gander slapped his forehead.  
"Realize what? Am I somehow trapped in one of your crazy experiments that was supposed to destroy me"  
"Nein. You are somehow in mein head"  
"Ew, that's disgusting. You're worse than Igor"  
"I meant that you are stuck inside mein mind"  
"How did I ever get stuck inside your head? Waitaminute! That spell I read from that book of yours! That must be how I got stuck here! But, that doesn't explain why there are two of you in one place."

"I am mein own consciousness. Zat other one is from one of mein own memories you are currently watching." the doctor explained proudly to himself as he noticed his enemy looked even more confused. The area they were standing in became pure blackness. Dr. Von Goosewing and the vegeterian vampire noticed a row of four doors appearing out of nothingness. Each door, except for the one right at the end of the row, were made of light wood. The door right at the end was solid steel, and was bolted shut.  
"Whatever. I'm getting outta here!" Duckula stated as he wrapped his cape around himself as tried to teleport. Nothing happened. Ignoring the smug look on the older fowl's face, DUckula tried to teleport a few times until he gave up, extremely exhausted.

"You stupid wampire, you can't get out of here because mein assistant's spell book has a curse that blocks any wampire's powers as long as one of his spells lasts." "How convenient. So, how would we get out here, then"  
"How should I be knowing? Heinrich had deserted me vhen I needed him ze most, remember"  
"No, I don't remember." Duckula admitted. All the doctor did was ask the air to cast the spell.

"Zat boy vos so reliable years ago, but nowadays he is always doing ze deserting vhen I need him ze most." the doctor sighed.  
"Well, maybe we should call it a truce and find a way out of here?" Count Duckula offered his hand to the doctor.  
"...How can I be trusting you?" the gander demanded as he eyed the hand suspicously.  
"Please just trust me on this one, Goosewing"  
"Stop calling me Goosewing like it iz mein first name. Mein first name is Erich"  
"Okay Erich, can we please call it a truce? Until we get out of here?"

Silence filled the air as the gander stared at the green hand with suspicion. After what felt like hours, he finally clasped his hand into the vampire's outstretched one.  
"Truce, until ve get out of here. Und nein funny business, ja?" the vampire hunter stated.  
"Ja--er, I mean, yes. Now, let's get out here." Count Duckula turned around to face the row of doors. Scratching his head, he turned his head to face the elder fowl.

"Well, what door should we choose first?" the mallard asked, hoping the goose would know better than he.  
"Er..." the doctor was just as confused.  
"What are these doors for anyway?" the vegeterian vampire wondered out loud as he opened the door closest to himself and Dr. Von Goosewing.

As soon as the waterfowl had opened the door up, the entire scenery had changed into a forest. Woodland critters were heard chatting and chirping as two figures stood quietly in the forest. One was a large goose that wore a hiking outfit. The other was a small gosling that wore an outfit similiar to the elder gander. Although his feathers were white, there was a slight shimmer of a baby yellow. That meant the child was only four or five years old.

"Papa, vill you please show me how to hunt wampires?" the gosling asked, his eyes shimmered with his eagerness. The elder goose, assumingly the father, chuckled to himself as he ruffled the child's head feathers.  
"Ven you are older, Erich." the gander smiled.  
"Zen can I be ze greatest wampire in ze vorld like you, Papa"  
"Ja, you can." the elder goose grinned, picking his son up to give him a piggyback ride. Duckula turned his head to face his enemy. Dr. Von Goosewing's eyes were welled up with tears as he watched himself and his father enjoying being in each other's company.

The entire scene ended as soon as it had came. The scenery again became a pitch black place of nothingness. The doors were back, yet the door Duckula had opened had disappeared.  
"Ze door, it had dizappeared!" Goosewing pointed out.  
"Hmm, maybe that's our ticket out of here?" Duckula pointed out as he stared at the other doors. There were only two doors left altogether .  
"Vell, I shall open ze next door." Goosewing offered as he opened the door closest to himself.

As soon as he had opened the door, the entire scene changed into a small village. In the village stood a young Dr. Von Goosewing (that wore a jacket over his usual outfit as well as a normal tie), a young brunette(whose hair was tied up in an untidy bun) goose that wore a chambermaid outfit and a teenage gander that wore a plain sorcerer's robes, had unruly head feathers and wore thick-rimmed glasses.  
"Please tell me you are being joking, Klara." Dr. Von Goosewing stated as he pointed at the younger gander that stood in front of him.  
"Nein, Erich. I am not joking. Zat kind shall be your assistant." the goose chuckled to herself as she saw her male companion pale.

"But, I am best at working on mein own." Goosewing tried his best to explain.  
"But, ze kind can help you greatly"  
"How"  
"Vell sir, I am a skilled sorcerer of white magic." the teenage goose explained.  
"Vell, zat doesn't impress me much"  
"Vell, all ze spells I am skilled at can render any wampire powerless"  
"...Und with his powers und your wampire veapons, you can be ze greatest wampire team in ze vorld." Klara explain happily.

"..." Both Dr. Von Goosewing and Heinrich eyed other suspiciously. "Fine, he can be mein assistant, but he better prove to be worth it"  
"I'm sure you von't be sorry..." Klara smiled happily to herself.

Without warning, the current Dr. Von Goosewing and Count Duckula witnessed the vampire hunter and his assistant's many adventures flash before their very eyes. They watched how they worked as a team as they defeated powerful vampires. They watched how Dr. Von Goosewing and Heinrich fought about Heinrich's wages and his hatred for being used as a guinea pig for the doctor's experiments and the vampire hunter's dislike for Heinrich's teasing of him being in love with his best friend Klara. Yet, the two saw each other as best friends. In fact, the vampire hunter saw his assistant as a son he never had.

Without warning, everything became pitch black again. Only two doors were left.  
"Well, that was interesting." Duckula admitted. He never knew Heinrich was real. He was also surprised that Goosewing would only see that beautiful goose as a friend.  
"Oh, zat vos ze good old days." the gander chuckled to himself as he wiped some tears away.  
"Goosewing, are you okay?" Duckula asked, concerned about the goose.  
"Ja, I am fine." the doctor lied, blowing his beak on his hankerchief.

"Okay, now for the last wooden door. Are you ready?" Duckula asked as he opened the door.

To be continued... 


	3. The Beautiful Vegeterian Vampiress

Mein Guilt: Chapter 3

Characters (c) Cosgrove Hall Lady Lamia, Count Lamian, Klara, story (c) Steffie

As soon as the last of the Duckulas opened the door, he and Dr. Von Goosewing were greeted with a scene of Dr. Von Goosewing and Heinrich trekking up a high hill that was in Austria. Ontop of the hill was a beautiful castle, which looked even more beautiful as the moon's light shone on it. Although They were both carrying a heavy bag over their shoulders, Heinrich was panting heavily as he struggled to keep up the pace with his senior.

"How much further, Doc?" the young assistant wheezed as the doctor grabbed hold of his hand to help him up.  
"Not much further. Only ein hundred feet left"  
"Vot? Please tell me you are being joking"  
"Nein, I am not." the goose chuckled as his assistant honked in despair. "Vell, ve can have a rest here." the doctor suggested.  
"Zank you, your sadistic monster." Heinrich hissed in an angry whisper.

After they took the lunch out of their bags, the two men gulped the food down heartilly. For a moment, they heard the bushes closest to them rustle. Thinking it was just a hungry animal, they shrugged their shoulders and continued eating. As they continued eating, they suddenly heard a deep snarl that was right behind them.

"Boss?" Heinrich gulped in horror. He had turned his head around to see what had made the snarling noise. He soon regretted his action.  
"Heinrich, ignore zat bear!" Goosewing stated in a low voice.  
"But boss, zat iz not a bear"  
"Vot are you mean-uh oh..."

The owner of the vicious snarl was none other than a giant vampire. Before either goose could get their vampire weapons out of their bags, the vampire leaped into the air and aimed straight for Dr. Von Goosewing. "Goosewing!!" Heinrich screamed in horror as the vampire knocked his senior off his feet and pinned him to the ground. The young gander panicked as the vampire tried to sink his fangs into the vampire hunter's jugular.

Suddenly, another snarl was heard as a female vampire goose came out of nowhere and attacked the other vampire. With a single swipe, she had killed the monster, which had stunned Goosewing and Heinrich speechless.  
"You're welcome." the female vampire goose said sarcastically.

Dr. Von Goosewing felt his cheeks burn hotly as he stared at the female. She was a beautiful goose. Her eyes shimmered like beautiful sapphires. Her hair reminded the doctor of the finest silk ever woven. Her feathers shimmered in the moonlight. Her pink Victorian gown fit snug against her hour-glass figure.

"A goddess..." Dr. Von Goosewing gasped in awe.  
"Actually, I am a vampire"  
"Ack!!" Heinrich screamed in terror as he hid behind the elder gander, whom in turn took an aggressive stance.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I am not like any vampire you have fought! I am a vegeterian"  
"A wegeterian?" the vampire hunter stared at the female suspiciously.

"I am speaking the truth. I was turned into a vampire against my will by a vampire bat. But, I fortunately kept my passive ways"  
"How can I be knowing zat you are being telling ze truth"  
"If I was really evil, I would have allowed that vampire to kill you"  
"Still..."

"How about a deal?" the female chirped happily.  
"A deal?" Dr. Von Goosewing eyed the woman suspiciously.  
"I will be helping you two destroy all the vampires you are hunting. Plus I must stay with you two and prove to you both that I am totally harmless. Deal?"

"Boss, iz zat wize?" Heinrich whispered in his boss' ear.  
"I know, but it eez perhaps best to be vatching her closely, zan for her to be doing ze killing of innocents vhen our backs are turned"  
"But, ve are barely knowing her"  
"Your worries would be for nought, gentleman. I never had drank blood or attacked any humans for centuries."

"Fine, ma'am. It's a deal." the vampire hunter stated as he held his hand out for the lady to shake.  
"That's wonderful. By the way, my name is Lady Lamia"  
"Lady Lamia"  
"Yep, I am a noblewoman from England. I was forced to flee into Austria after I was turned into a vampire"  
"Ah, I see. Vell, I am Dr. Von Goosewing. Ze greatest wampire hunter in ze vorld. But, you may call me Erich." the doctor said as he kissed her hand.  
"Pleased to meet you." the vampire cooed as she fluttered her eyelashes at the doctor, which made him blush. He stopped the moment he heard his assistant clear his throat in annoyance.

"Madam, mein name is Heinrich. I am Dr. Von Goosewing's trusty assistant." the young gander puffed his chest out, trying to impress the lady.  
"Charmed." the goose stated, a bit annoyed.

Count Duckula and the current Goosewing watched how Lady Lamia tried to gain the trust of Dr. Von Goosewing and Heinrich over the years. While she tried to gain their trust, the vampire hunter's feelings for her grew stronger and stronger. She was everything he wanted in a woman. He was especially glad that his friend Klara could get along so well with her.

One fateful day, the vampire hunter sat alone in his cottage with the vampiress. He nuzzled his beak against hers, being very affecionate. She returned the gesture a bit reluctantly. "Eric"  
"Ja"  
"You don't trust me"  
"Vot makes you say that?  
"You kept a musket in your vest pocket. I felt it when I hugged your earlier"  
"Oh. I am very sorry, Suzie. Bad habit of mine"  
"I don't believe you..." the vampiress glared.

"Vot do you mean"  
"Do you really believe I'll believe you when you say you trust and love me, when you always carry a vampire weapon in your pocket? I'll only believe you if you don't carry any weapons on you for an entire month"  
"Suzie, I shall show you zat I do trust you fully."

Weeks went by and Dr. Von Goosewing tried his best to prove he trusts the woman completely. By accident, he had forgotten his weapons twice. Yet, it didn't matter. She proved to be true to her word about being a vegeterian vampire. After the third week, the vampire hunter trusted the vampiress completely, to Heinrich's dismay.

A month later, Doctor Von Goosewing decided that he should propose to her. He had set everything up. He had cooked a meal fit for a king. The table was set up beautifully with candelights, silk tablecloths and his most expensive china. He even had bought the best champagne any winehouse would have produced. He hoped she would approve of this and say yes.

His worries were for nought. As soon as she entered the room, she was on cloud nine. She sang praises for every little detail. They both ate the dinner happily as the gander pondered when to pop the question. After dinner, he had done so. She was estatic. She squealed happily and nearly hugged the daylights out of him. To his surprise, she said that she wanted to take him to her castle so that he can help her carry all her belongings to his place, so that she could move in.

Much later, Lady Lamia's castle

"Wow, zis is a beautiful place you have." Dr. Von Goosewing gasped in awe as he stood in the main hall of the castle. It was fit for a king.  
"I am so glad you like it." the vampiress smiled.  
"So, vhen do you vont me to help you move"  
"How about we have some tea in the living room before we do anything"  
"Fine mit me." Goosewing smiled.

Later, the living room

"Zank you so much for ze tea, Suzie." the gander smiled as he wiped his beak against his sleeve. Lady Lamia was busy drinking her second cup.  
"You sure you don't want anymore?" she asked as soon as she took the last sip from her cup. "Nein zank you. Come, let's take sort out vot you vont to take mit you." the vampire hunter stated as he got up from his seat and turned his heel to leave.

"Wait a moment, Eric." Lady Lamia purred as she grabbed hold of Goosewing's arm. To his surprise, she had taken his pince-nez off of his beak.  
"Vot eez it?" the gander asked. He was answered by Lady Lamia tilting his chin up a bit so that he could look into her eyes.  
"You have such beautiful eyes. Those darn glasses of yours blocked their beauty. You should wear them less often"  
"But, I am as blind as a fledermaus without mein glasses." the gander tried to explain as he tried to reach out to Lady Lamia's hand.

"That's all I needed to know." Lady Lamia snarled in a low voice as she crushed the glasses in her bare hands.  
"Vot? Mein Liebling, vot iz you doing?" Goosewing shrieked in horror as he felt her lift him up by the front of his shirt. With a slight flick of the wrist, she threw the vampire hunter hard against the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

"You are such a fool, Goosewing." Lady Lamia snarled as he voice became deeper, her eyes glowing red. She slowly stalked up to her prey, her feathers slowly becoming green as she changed form. To the gander's utter shock, to transformed into the deadliest vampire of all: Count Duckula!

"No way!" the current Count Duckula gasped in shock as he noticed this Count Duckula looked exactly like him, but with fangs and blood-red eyes. The current count couldn't help but notice how the current vampire hunter's body shook in despair and anger. Tears streamed down his eyes as he watched the scene before him.

"No, it can't be!" the past Dr. Von Goosewing gasped in horror. He tried to get up to run away, but fell as soon as he tried to stand on his injured leg. He must've broken his leg from the hard impact. But, it didn't matter. As long as he had his vampire weapons, he would be fine. The gander dug into his vest pocket and paled. He didn't bring any weapons with him.

"Tonight, the last of the Goosewings shall be no more!" Count Duckula snarled as he picked the vampire hunter up, and slammed his head hard against the floor. He repeated this several times, grinning insanely as his enemy cursed as he tried his best to stay conscious. After a few more head slams, he wrapped his hands around the doctor's delicate neck. His claws slowly drew blood as he increased his grip.

"You were a fool to trust a vampire. I mean, since when can a vampire be a vegeterian? That is impossible, not matter how a vampire acted otherwise. In fact, they would only eat fruits and vegetables to make the taste of blood and meat all the more sweeter." The Count bared his fangs, ready to sink them into the tender neck.

"Don't you even dare, you foul fiend!" the frantic voice of Heinrich howled in terror as he landed on his feet behind the vampire, spell book in hand. Out of surprise, Count Duckula dropped his prey hard against the floor. His prey found it extremely hard to stay conscious.

"Or else what, you little whipper snapper?" the vampire laughed to himself as he watched the assistant of Goosewing frantically page through his spellbook. "Or else this!" the gander smiled as he found the spell he was looking for. "Heinrich! Forget about me, and get out of here! NOW!" the vampire hunter screamed hoarsely, his throat felt like it was on fire.

"Nein, I vill stay here und help you!" Heinrich shouted back, holding his hands up.  
"No, Heinrich..." Goosewing panicked as he realized he was slowly losing consciousness.  
"Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. You shall stay like zat for eternity." Heinrich chanted, his hands lifted high above his head. A small orb of white light floated above his head. As soon as it was a decent size, the assistant threw his arms down with force.

The white orb flew towards the vampire. The aim was true. Goosewing had even smiled in joy as he realized the spell will work.  
"Ja! I have done it!" Heinrich cheered in delight, his back turned to the vampire.  
"I am afraid you are wrong." Count Duckula stated. By simply lifting his arm in the air, the vampire had reflected the spell back to the spellcaster. The spell flew towards the young gander with incredible speed. The young gander didn't even notice his spell didn't strike his intended target. In fact, Count Duckula teleported himself out as soon as he had reflected the spell.  
"HEINRICH, WATCH OUT!!" Dr. Von Goosewing screamed in horror. The young assistant turned around, and his eyes widened in horror.

Everything happened in slow motion, as if time slowed down. Dr. Von Goosewing screamed in horror as the spell struck his assistant squarely in the chest, which made him fall hard onto the floor a few feet away from his senior. The young gander screamed in agony as his entire body slowly transformed into ash.  
"GOOSEWING! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Heinrich wailed, tears streaming down his eyes as he stretched his hand out for the vampire hunter to hold onto. But, the outstretched arm became ash as soon as Dr. Von Goosewing tried to reach for it.

"Heinrich!" the vampire hunter sobbed as he watched helplessly as his assistant's entire body turn into ash. After a few agonizing minutes, all that was left were Heinrich's robes, shoes, glasses and his ashes.

With what was left of his energy, Goosewing dragged himself closer to where his assistant's body used to be. He tried his best to not lose consciousness. Scooping the ashes into his hands, the vampire hunter allowed the tears to run down his cheeks. After a few minutes of crying, he gently allowed the ashes to siff through his hands.

"No!" The doctor shook his head frantically, ignoring the pain. His entire body shook in sorrow, despair and hate. With the strength of his entire being, the doctor screamed as loudly with all the anguish that was filled in his heart. The scream had worn him out so much, the doctor collapsed onto his stomach and fell into the ashes. He felt his consciousness beginning to slip again.

"Please forgive me, Heinrich..." the vampire hunter sobbed as everything became black...

To be continued... 


	4. A Vampire Hunter No More

Mein Guilt: Chapter 4

Characters (c) Cosgrove Hall Lady Lamia, Count Lamian, Klara, story (c) Steffie Count Duckula shivered as it dawned upon him why Goosewing was so obsessed with destroying him: the gander believed he had murdered the one boy he saw as his son.

The mallard gave a quick glance to the old gander. The goose's entire body shook as he silently wept in his hands.  
"...Goosewing, I"  
"Shut up!" Goosewing snapped, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry for what had happened to you, but that wasn't me!" The count tried to explain, but was cut off when Goosewing's hands grippd onto the silver door's handle and tried to pull it open with his entire being. After seeing the doctor's efforts were for nought, Duckula used his vampire strength to open the door for the gander.

As soon as the door opened, Duckula and Goosewing were greeted with a scene of a hospital room. The injured Goosewing laid still in the bed, while Klara clutched onto his uninjured hand.  
"It iz all mein fault..." Goosewing shook his head. He refused to look at his best friend in the eye.

"Erich, it iz not your fault! Lady Lamia had us all fooled!" Klara protested.  
"Und I am ze greatest fool of zem all..." The gander smothered his head into his hands and sobbed while Klara wrapped her arms around her best friend to comfort him.

Duckula and Goosewing watched as the weeks flew by. The younger Goosewing cried himself to sleep, and his dreams were saturated with the helpless Heinrich begging for him to help him as he turned to ash. As soon as he became ash, he heard the voice of his friends and family demanding why the greatest vampire hunter in the world couldn't even save his assistant from death.

As the weeks became months, Goosewing soon realized who his true friends were. His false friends stopped visiting him when they grew sick and tired of the doctor's gloomy personality. They even had the courtesy to tell him the gander should stop being so angsty and move on.

Goosewing even tried to slowly push his family and true friends out of his life. Despite that, they still continued to support him, even when he announced that he decided to give up vampire hunting.

Little did he friends and family realized, Goosewing slowly lost his grip on reality as his mind tried to block the painful memories from it. He slowly became goofy, aggressive, obsessive with vampires, slowly lost his intellect and even became clueless to the obvious. They didn't think much of this change of personality, until one fateful morning...

The graveyard

Goosewing slowly waddled to a small tombstone, a small boquet of lilies in his hand. The gander slowly bend down to gingerly place the flowers on the grave. As soon as he got up, his eyes widened in surprise as he noticed someone from the corner of his eye.

"Hello." Heinrich waved, a goofy grin on his beak. Yes, he was no longer a pile of ashes. In fact, the gander looked as if he had grown up after all these months. He was taller and was more slim than before. His head feathers were tamed and neatly trimmed. Instead of them being thick-rimmed, his glasses were replaced with a pince-nez. The assistant even wore black sorcerer's robes that had gold trimmings, a sign that he is finally a highly-qualified sorcerer.

"Heinrich..." Goosewing whispered as tears of joy ran down his cheek. With his arms outstretched, he ran towards the younger gander and nearly crushed with a bear hug. The doctor honked in joy, ignoring Heinrich flailing his arms wildly as his air supply was cut off. After what felt like hours, Goosewing finally let Heinrich go.

"Heinrich, you're alive! I can't believe it!" Goosewing stated, gripping onto the boy's shoulders.  
"Ja, I am alive"  
"But, how"  
"I vos never killed! Zat wampire casted a spell zat creates illusions of vot he vonted you to see"  
"Oh"  
"He vonted you to be so upset over me being killed, zat you shall give up on wampire hunting."

"If zat iz so, zen vhere vere you?" Goosewing asked.  
"Count Duckula had kidnapped me und locked me up in his dungeon. Strangely, he never tortured me. Vhen I had ze chance, I had broken out of ze dungeon und trekked all ze way back to ze willage"  
"Oh, zat iz good. Come Heinrich, let's show ze others zat you iz back."

Goosewing and Heinrich walked to his house in a spring in their step. Along the way, they saw Klara in front of the well, busy drawing water into her jug. As soon as she was finished, she rested the jug onto her shoulder.  
"Klara, look! Heinrich iz back! He vos never killed by zat wampire!" Goosewing shouted in joy. The goose turned her head around. She wore a puzzled expression.

"Klara, vhere iz your manners? Look, Heinrich iz back und you don't even say hello?" Goosewing asked, sounding a bit cross. Heinrich looked a bit hurt that the goose didn't greet hello.  
"!" Klara gasped in horror, the jug crashed onto the ground in front of her feet. It smashed into tiny pieces as water splashed onto her dress. Her entire body shook as she covered her beak with her hands. She swiftly turned her heel and ran into her house.  
"Now, zat vos strange!" Goosewing scratched his head in confusion.

Suddenly, Count Duckula and the current Goosewing felt themselves being sucked up by a strange vortex, the exact same one that brought Duckula into Goosewing's mind. The two fowls screamed in terror as they felt themselves flunged out of Goosewing's mind. A yellow light flew into the unconscious form of DUckula, while Goosewing leaped out of the mallard's bed.

"Duckyboos, you're alright!" Nanny shouted in joy as she hugged the poor vampire to death. Goosewing looked on in jealously, cleanly forgotten they are his enemies.  
"See Nanny, we had nothing to worry about." Igor stated matter-of-factly.  
"Nothing to worry about? Igor, I was stuck in Goosewing's mind, and saw some horrible stuff." Duckula protested. Igor's eyes glimmered as he imagined what his master had seen.

"Zhose horrible 'stuff' vhere your fault, you foul monster!" Goosewing screamed, grabbing the spellbook that was lying on the bed.  
"Dr. Von Goosewing, what do you mean?" Igor demanded.  
"Ask zat wampire himself! He knows!" "What do you know, Master Duckula?" Nanny asked.  
"When I was in his mind, I found out that a Count Duckula disguised himself as a beautiful vegeterian vampiress goose and wooed Goosewing here. After the vampire had made him trust him, he had tried to kill Goosewing, but his assistant saved him, and was killed instead. That is why Goosewing is so determined to destroy me, even though I am harmless."

"A Count Duckula had disguised himself as a female?" Igor asked.  
"Yes, that's right." "But M'Lord, none of the Count Duckulas had that ability"  
"Not one?" "Vot do you mean, Igor"  
"That means that the vampire that had seduced you could not have been a Count Duckula"  
"But, zat ein I eff fought looked just like Count Duckula!" Goosewing's voice became louder as he became distress.

"Many mallards looked alike. In fact, the count of Austria is a mallard duck--" Igor began, but was cut off by the doctor leaping out of the window and landing into the basket of his hot-air balloon. DUckula and his servants leaned out of the window as they watched the gander's hot-air balloon fly away.

"Goosewing, where are you going?" "To destroy ze count of Austria, Count Duckula! He vos ze ein zat caused me despair und grief vhen I thought mein assistant vos killed"  
"Good idea Goosewing, avenge Heinrich. Heh heh"  
"Und remember, you foul fiend, zat I shall kill you as soon as I killed ze count of Austria, ja!" Goosewing stated as his balloon flew further away until he was just a black speck in the sky.

"Heh heh. I can't believe it! We finally got rid of Von Goosewing!" Duckula giggled in glee, but stopped soon after.  
"Poor guy was deceived by a vampire that pretended to be a peaceful vegeterian. No wonder he never believed me when I said I was harmless."

"Did Dr. Von Goosewing say he's going to Austria to kill that count, M'Lord"  
"Yes, he had, Igor. Why'd you ask"  
"M'Lord, I know that vampire very well. Nanny and I used to be his employees"  
"You used to work for that guy? Why did you leave him"  
"Actually, he fired us, Duckyboos." Nanny piped up.  
"He fired you? Why"  
"He said I wasn't evil enough." Igor sighed.  
"You weren't evil enough?! But, even the most evil of my relatives said that they were delighted with how evil you are. Yet, that guy had the nerve to say you're not evil enough!" Duckula stated, not adding he wished the butler was less evil.

"M'Lord, the count of Austria is second only to the Count Duckulas when it comes to power. But, he is second to none when it comes to how evil he is." Igor stated.  
"So, Goosewing has no chance against him"  
"I'm afraid not, M'Lord."

Suddenly, Duckula got ran out of his bedroom, and towards his coffin. His servants were right behind him.  
"M'Lord! What are you doing"  
"Igor, we're going to Austria to save Goosewing! I won't have his death on my conscious!" Duckula stated as he stood right in front of the coffin.

"But M'Lord"  
"No, Igor! Despite how annoying the doctor was, I won't let him die!" Duckula stated firmly as he stepped into his coffin to transport Castle Duckula to Austria.

Meanwhile

The hot-air balloon of Dr. Von Goosewing flew silently through the air as it approached the castle atop the hills of Austria. As soon as the balloon was close enough to the castle, the gander leaped out of the basket and into the window. The only weapons in his hands were his musket, the spellbook and a small bottle of holy water.

"Come Heinrich, let's find this foul fiend! He must be here zomewhere..." Goosewing stated as he tip-toed through the long passageway. His heart thumped loudly in his ribcage, fear growing within his body. He was so scared that he didn't even hear a puff as a bat transformed into a figure that towered over him from behind.

"No need to find me, Eric. I am right here!" a deep voice rumbled as sharp fangs shimmered in sinister intent.  
"You"  
"I am surprised you are finally back for me to sink my fangs into your neck!" the mallard grinned, lunging himself at his prey.

Meanwhile

As soon as Castle Duckula landed on the ground right underneath the hilltops where the castle of Austria's count was situated, Duckula and his servants ran up the hill will all their might. They increased their speed as Goosewing's screams became louder and frantic from within the castle.

After a what felt like hours, the vegeterian vampire and his servants were finally in front of the castle. Nanny smashed into the door, which allowed Igor and Duckula to enter as well. They ran through the passageway until they stopped dead in their tracks. They were shocked at what they saw.

Goosewing's suit was torn to shreds and were stained with blood. The lenses of the pince-nez on the bridge on his beak were cracked. The doctor held his injured arm close to his body. In front of his booted feet were ashes and a torn cape.

"I heff finally done it. I heff avenged Heinrich's death." Goosewing's voice shook as he collapsed to his knees.  
"Goosewing?" Duckula was confused. Didn't Goosewing believe his assistant was still alive?  
"Vhen he had attacked me back zen, Count Lamian had somehow brainwashed vhile I vos mourning for Heinrich. Ze brainwashing had made me believed Heinrich vos never dead"  
"So, you are cured after you killed him?"

"Ja." Goosewing stated as he got to his knees and started to limp.  
"Where are you going"  
"It has been a long time since I heff seen mein friends, so I shall visit them"  
"That's great, but aren't you forgetting something?" Duckula asked before he could stop himself.  
"It doesn't matter, I heff retired from wampire hunting."

"What?!" Duckula and his servants nearly lost their footing as the news shocked them.  
"You're retiring, but why? Isn't vampire hunting your duty?" Igor asked.  
"I heff finally achieved vot I vonted to do all these years. Besides, I am too old"  
"Too old? But, you are still a youngster!" Nanny protested.  
"Nein, I am sixty-five years old. I must retire. Mein body iz not vot iz used to being." Goosewing sighed.

Without a word, the elderly gander limped back to the hot-air balloon, ready to leave the life he had lead for nearly five decades. Count Duckula and his servants used their castle to travel back to Transylvania, ready to go to bed.

As the villagers below looked on surprise as no horrible cries came from the castle, we bid farewell to friends and foes alike.

Goodnight out there┘ Whatever you are!

The End 


End file.
